To Love a Beast
by moonlightxdream
Summary: Akari is wary of the popular Shuuichi. Little does she know it's because her Reiki is slightly higher than most humans, and it's about to get her in a lot of trouble. Will a prince be there to rescue her? Or is he a beast in disguise? AU KuramaxOCxYouko


_A/n: Okie dokey, before we get into anything, let me explain the rules of my universe. 1) YYH is not mine, sadly enought. 2) Kurama has the ability to return to his original form (aka Youko) anytime, but there are consequences. 3) Kurama/Shuuichi and Youko are both the same person and two separate entities. This is somewhat hinted at in the actual series, so that's what I'm drawing from. 4) Yusuke, etc. will probably not appear in this, unless I change my mind somewhere down the line. and 5) I will be drawing on some concepts from Samurai Deeper Kyo. It's purely unintentional, but when I thought about it, there were definitely some similarities, so I felt it necessary to give SDK credit. I do so love that series. Kyo is hot. Anyways! Now that that's out of the way, Onward!_

Chapter First

Akari's eyes trailed the shelves of books. If she didn't find a book soon, she would never be able to finish that book report in time, and Nijo-sensei would probably kill her; he had already given her a week's extension because of her absences, but he had done so with a scowl on his face. She sighed. It wasn't like she wanted to miss school. After working her butt off all through junior high just to get into Meiou High School, she had enough trouble keeping her grades up as it was, and she definitely didn't want to get kicked out. That would just suck.

A soft groan escaped her lips. These books were all so dull looking. Why didn't the school library ever seem to have any interesting? She moved to the next shelf and began searching. Finally, a title caught her eye: "Demons and Other Supernatural Creatures: Do They Live Among Us?" She pulled the book out and held it in her hands. It was slender, and its dark red cover was old and peeling, the pages yellowed from age. Well, demons were always an interesting topic, and Nijo-sensei hadn't said what _kind_ of book she needed to read.

"That's an interesting choice of books, Yosano-san," a quiet voice said.

Akari looked up to see a red-haired boy standing beside her, his green eyes on the book in her hands. Her cheeks tinged. It was none other than Minamino Shuuichi, the most popular boy in the entire school. Talking to him was dangerous for a girl. If anyone else found out and started getting suspicious, the consequences would be dire. However, unlike what seemed to be every other female, and some males, at Meiou High School, Akari did not have a crush on Shuuichi. In fact, she found him almost creepy. There was something about the strange glint in his emerald eyes, the cold aura which hovered around him, that sent a chill down her spine, like a warning to stay away from him, for he was no mere human. Of course, she knew those thoughts were ridiculous, probably the result of reading too many books about demons and vampires and the like, but that didn't make the feeling any less real.

"—sano-san. Yosano-san."

Akari jumped as Shuuichi's voice snapped her back to reality. She hadn't realized she'd gotten so lost in her thoughts. "Yes? Sorry," she apologized quickly.

"May I see it?"

Looking down, Akari saw that Shuuichi was holding his hand out for her book. Why did he want to see it? She shrugged, and handed it to him, watching as he flipped through its worn pages and the slightest of frowns creased his forehead.

"Perhaps you should find a different book. I'm not so sure Nijo-sensei would approve of you writing a report on this," he said at last, closing the book.

Akari rolled her eyes. That was the school's top student, a natural goodie-goodie. Maybe she wouldn't have pinned him as one at first, but the smartest students always were suck-up law-abiders. Although, she preferred to follow the rules herself, most of the time, but if it meant having to read some dull novel about a guy who lived two hundred years ago, she found she could make some exceptions.

"Nijo-sensei wasn't specific with his instructions, so I'm sure he won't mind," she said quietly, timidly holding her hand out for the book and hoping he would just give it to her and let her be. She never was very good at dealing with conflict.

He nodded and placed the book in her palm, but as she started to take it, his grip tightened, holding her hand and the book in place. His green eyes held her brown ones with a sternness that sent her heart skipping with fear. "Be careful," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper, and then he released the book and walked past her.

She turned around and stared at his back as he left. Was that a threat? Her heart was still beating faster than usual, but she shook her head. 'Get a hold of yourself, Akari. You're being stupid again,' she told herself firmly. Scowling at the redhead, she stuck her tongue out at him. So what if he was the smartest and most handsome person in the school? That didn't mean he could just boss her around. Whirling on her heel, she stomped determinedly to the checkout desk and laid her book on the counter. She would show that Shuuichi.

Kurama left the library, walking into the empty school hallway. Most of the students had already gone home. _"That girl senses something, Shuuichi,"_ a familiar voice said in his mind. _"I can see it in the way she tenses up whenever you're near, and how she cringes if you so much as look at her."_

"I am well aware of this, Youko," he said softly.

_"Shouldn't you do something, then?"_ Youko chuckled. _"Her spirit energy is stronger than most humans. She's certain to attract some hungry demons."_

"What can I do but watch her and hope that does not happen?" Kurama asked. He stepped into the warm, afternoon sunlight of outside, and a light breeze rustled his long red hair. "I am certain those books she reads are only making her spirit energy grow stronger, but I cannot convince her to stop reading them."

_"You could let me deal with her."_

"Yes, so you can scare the poor girl into submission and then wreak havoc on the rest of the town." Kurama smiled, shaking his head gently. "No, I will handle it."

_"Hn, well, don't turn to me when something bad happens."_

"Of course not. I wouldn't dream of it."

Akari turned the page of her book, absorbing its contents with wild fascination. For some reason, she couldn't put this book down, like it was sucking her in with every word. She'd read plenty of books on demons before, but none of them had ever had this effect on her.

A loud rapping on the door startled the girl out of her absorption, and she looked up in time to see her mother come in the room, looking tired and irritated. "Akari, what are you still doing up? You're not reading another of those creature books, are you?" she asked, eyeing the novel in her daughter's hands warily.

"No, Mom, this is for a book report. Nijo-sensei gave me an extension since I was out for almost two weeks," Akari said. She was glad that for once, she could tell her mother she was doing homework truthfully.

Yasano Narue raised a skeptical eyebrow. "My daughter, staying up late to study? You never did that, even in junior high."

Akari frowned. "Well, believe it or not, this time I actually am," she replied.

"Alright, if you insist, honey," her mother said. "Just don't stay up too late; I don't want all your hard work to go to waste if you can't even stay awake in class."

"Yeah, yeah," Akari muttered. "Night, Mom."

"Good night, sweetheart." Her mother closed the door softly, and Akari breathed out a sigh of relief and returned to her book.

Her eyes widened as she read the next paragraph. 'Demons have been known to take on human form, disguising their true selves to the eyes of normal humans, and then luring the unsuspecting prey to them with unnatural charm. It is also possible that some humans have higher awareness and can sense these demons. These humans, often without realizing it, recoil from these wolves in sheep's skin, wisely keeping their distance.'

She looked up, and her thoughts flickered to Shuuichi. Since her first day at Meiou, she had always felt an uneasiness that was more than just shy nature around him, and all of the other girls seemed to be attracted to him. It was almost strange, actually, that so many girls would like one boy. Could it be…? Akari shook her head, slamming the book shut. It was a book—a book. There was no way it could be true, even if it seemed to be describing her exact thoughts about the redheaded genius. He couldn't be a demon. Even for someone she disliked so much, that was just going too far.

Sighing, Akari turned off her lamp and lay in bed, staring into the darkness for a long while before sleep finally caught her in its clutches.

Kurama glanced at Akari out of the corner of his eye as the group of chattering girls surrounded him. She was watching him again, like she had been all day whenever a female student approached him, and that sharp look in her eyes was not jealousy. No, her eyes held a mixture of suspicion, fear, distrust, and something else he couldn't quite place. His gaze flickered to the aged book held in her lap. Probably without realizing it, she was gripping it so tightly her knuckles were turning white. He knew what was buried towards the final pages—he had read it himself once out of curiosity—and he knew how close to the truth that text was, and what her mind would make of it once she read it. How far could she have gotten in one day?

"Minamino-san, are you listening to us?"

Kurama quickly drew his eyes from Akari and to the girl speaking to him. She was a tall girl with waist-length brown hair, and very pretty. He could never quite remember her name. "Sorry, I must have zoned out," he said, smiling apologetically.

_"Hn. Zoned out, indeed. More like you were worrying about that little human girl,"_ Youko's low voice chuckled in the back of his mind.

Kurama frowned, his eyes flickering briefly to Akari. 'You're right, I am worried about her,' he thought back to his inner self. 'More than that, I'm worried what trouble she will mean for this city, and for us, if her spirit's awareness continues to grow.'

"What on earth do you keep looking at, Minamino-san?" the tall girl cried. She looked over her shoulder to see Akari sitting directly in Kurama's line of vision, and her lips pursed as she turned back to him. "Surely you aren't looking at Yasano-san? She's pretty, but she's hardly smart enough for someone like you. Everyone knows she was only accepted because the Headmaster felt sorry for her."

Kurama quickly hid his scowl with a slight smile. "You must be mistaken. I was merely admiring Nijo-sensei's painting." He nodded at the picture hanging on the wall behind Akari, a water-color of a flowering sakura tree.

The girl smiled brightly. "How silly of me! Of course, someone with as elegant tastes as yours would notice such a lovely painting above all else."

"Yes," Kurama said. "The bell will ring soon. Perhaps you should head to your own class so you aren't late?"

"Oh, you're right. We'll talk to you later, then." The group of girls waved before leaving the classroom. As she left, the girl furtively jerked a strand of Akari's wavy dark brown hair, and Kurama frowned. He disliked the way those girls behaved.

_"You could do something about it."_

'Yes, but then they would think I had affections for her, and they would abuse her even more,' Kurama replied silently.

_"That isn't what I meant, and you know it."_

A smirk tugged at the corners of Kurama's mouth. 'Know what?' he asked innocently. 'Now be quiet,' he said as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. 'I need to pay attention.'

Youko snorted at that false statement, but obligingly said nothing.

Akari glared at the group of girls filing past her. Here she was, worrying about them, and this was how they repaid her? She snorted. Well, it was no secret that Kawate and her gang thought they ruled the school. They were such annoying brats, the lot of them. Her thoughts returned to Shuuichi, and she glanced at him once again. He was staring at his desk, a smile playing on his lips. Who would his next target be?

She dropped her head on the desktop with a soft thud. 'Stop it, Akari! You already decided it was impossible for Shuuichi to actually be a demon. Now you're just being dumber than usual.' The bell rang and she lifted her head with a sigh, pulling out her notebook in preparation to take notes.

"How are you coming along on that book report, Yasano-san?" Nijo-sensei's voice asked.

She didn't bother looking up, but instead continued flipping her notebook to a blank page. "Fine," she said. "I should have the book finished by tonight."

She was sure he raised an eyebrow at that statement, probably doubtful. Well, she would show him. "I hope you are taking this assignment seriously, Yasano-san. I won't be giving you a third chance, and I'm sure we would all be displeased if you were expelled for failing grades."

"I am taking it seriously, Sensei," Akari sighed. She leaned her chin on her hand. "I'll have the report in to you by the end of the week, okay?"

"I hope so," he said, finally walking away. She let out a frustrated sigh. It was impossible to get a moment's peace in this stupid school.

Akari jotted down notes as Nijo-sensei began his lecture, but she soon found her attention slipping away, and she began to doodle on her paper. When she looked at the finished sketch, her eyebrows rose. It was a picture of a young man with fox ears and a tail, although not exactly a good drawing. 'Okay, I have no idea where that came from,' she thought. She looked at Shuuichi, staring at Nijo-sensei with a bored expression. How did the highest scoring student manage to get away with not paying attention?

She scowled and looked back at her sketch. A fox demon…that would make sense. After all, foxes were supposed to be the most skilled at disguising themselves. 'Agh! Enough of this already!' Angrily, she ripped the page from her notebook, crumpled it up, and tossed it in the trashcan. 'This is stupid. Maybe I should just go talk to him so I can convince myself he's _not_ a demon, or anything else other than human for that matter.' Her thoughts flitted to the memory of what the book had said about demons luring in their prey, and she grimaced. 'On second thought, maybe I'll just keep my distance. Better safe than sorry.'

The bell rang at last, and Akari scurried out of the classroom, glad for the escape from both Nijo-sensei and her own stupid thoughts.

Kurama slowly gathered his things together, waiting until the last student had left the classroom before finally making his way to the trashcan. He picked up the wad of paper and unfolded it carefully, smoothing it out. A small gasp of surprise escaped him as his eyes fell on the picture.

_"Perceptive one, isn't she?"_ Youko said. He laughed. _"Not much of an artist, though."_

Silently, Kurama folded the paper and slipped it into his pocket. _"You're keeping it?"_

"It may prove useful," Kurama said, shrugging his shoulders.

_"Or perhaps you're just wanting a keepsake of her,"_ Youko suggested tauntingly.

Kurama smiled slowly. "Perhaps." He felt Youko roll his eyes, and laughed inwardly. 'Still, I hope she doesn't wind up getting herself hurt,' he thought seriously. 'It won't be long before demons that really do wish her harm catch on to her scent.'


End file.
